Package of blower units



PACKAGE OF BLOWER UNITS Filed April 29. 1968 s Sheets-Sheet z INVENTOR. wit APO E HMS/1M5? Feb. 17, 1970 H. R. LlMB ACHER PACKAGE OF BLOWER uNiTs Filed April 29. 1968 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. A I wmPpezw/la/ge United States Patent 3,495,705 PACKAGE OF BLOWER UNITS Howard R. Limbacher, Kalamazoo, Mich., assignor to The Brundage Company, Kalamazoo, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Apr. 29, 1968, Ser. No. 724,864 Int. Cl. 365d 71/00 US. Cl. 20665 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pallet for shipping blowers including a pluarity of vertically stacked layers of volute-shaped blowers, a base panel positioned beneath the lowermost layer of blowers, an intermediate panel positioned between each of the layers of blowers and a top panel positioned over the uppermost layer of blowers. The base panel has a plurality of downwardly extending legs and an upwardly facing deck including a plurality of blower-support stations. The intermediate panels have an upwardly facing deck including a plurality of blower-support stations and a downwardly facing deck including a plurality of blowerretaining stations. The top panel also has a downwardly facing deck including a plurality of blower-retaining stations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to apparatus for shipping voluteshaped blowers and more particularly to palletizing apparatus for use in shipping large numbers of such blowers.

Description of the prior art In the past, blowers have commonly been shipped in individual containers or cartons. Such means entailed numerous disadvantages particularly where large numbers of blowers were involved. Each packaged blower, for example, generally required individual handling during shipment and once the blower reached its destination, the problem of disposing of the cartons and packing materials was presented. In order to overcome such problems, it has been proposed that the blowers be shipped on a pallet appartus. However, the pallet structures presently used have still not been completely satisfactory. These structures are capable of handling only a limited number of sizes of blowers since the blowers are usually positioned with their outlet openings facing downwardly against a pallet and are held relative to the panel by guide blocks which must fit snugly within the said outlet in the blower housing. Also, since no guide blocks are provided on the lower side of the intermediate panels for engagement With the upper side of the blowers, a certain amount of lateral shifting between the panels and the layers of blowers often results. Further, since the blowers are positioned with their shafts parallel to the pallet, the shafts of the outer row of blowers extend outwardly in an unprotected manner whereby inadvertent striking of same by other objects may cause damage. Such previous pallets have been constructed of plywood and if of suflicient thickness to provide the required strength, then the pallet is relatively heavy, particularly if it becomes damp or wet. Such pallets also have a limited life, are not well suited for mass production and constitute a substantial expense regardless of whether the pallets are destroyed by, or returned from, the customer.

Accordingly, the objects of this invention include:

(1) To provide a compact, inexpensive palletizing apparatus for shipping large numbers of volute-shaped blowers whereby the individual blower is securely retained in position with its shaft vertical.

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(2) To provide a palletizing apparatus capable of handling blowers of an infinite number of widths.

(3) To provide a strong, lightweight, durable pallet for shipping blowers, said pallets being inexpensively mass produced by the vacuum forming of thermoplastic sheet material.

(4) To provide a palletizing apparatus, as aforesaid, having means to prevent lateral shifting between layers of blowers.

(5) To provide a palletizing apparatus, as aforesaid, in which the blower shafts are protected.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will be apparent to persons acquainted with apparatus of this general type upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the pallet arrangement of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is an exploded, perspective view of a base panel and an intermediate panel with the blowers removed.

FIGURE 3 shows a top view of a base panel with the blowers being indicated by broken lines.

FIGURE 4 is a top view of an intermediate panel with the blowers being indicated by broken lines.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom view of an intermediate panel with the blower-retaining stations being indicated in broken lines.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VIVI in FIGURE 4 with the blower housing being shown in broken lines. The section line VI-VI in FIG- URE 5 is provided for cross reference purposes.

Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience in reference only and will not be limiting. The words upwardly and downwardly will designate directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words inwardly and outwardly will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the apparatus and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include words above specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof and words of similar import.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As shown in FIGURE 1, the apparatus 10 for handling blowers 11 comprises rectangular panels, including base panel 12, intermediate panels 13, 14, 16 and 17 and a top panel 18. The blowers 11 (FIGURES 1, 3 and 6) are of a conventional type, having volute-shaped housings 19 and a rotatable shaft 21 extending through the center and beyond each end thereof. It should, however, be noted that apparatus 19, without modification, is capable of handling blowers 11 which do not have shafts 21 mounted therein. Blowers 11 have an air intake zone 22 defined in the ends thereof and an air output zone 23, here rectangular, in the side thereof defined by portion 24 of housing 19.

The base panel 12, intermediate panels 13, 14, 16 and 17 and top panel 18 may be vacuum formed from suitable sheet material, such as a thermoplastic sheet material, said base panel being preferably constructed of slightly heavier material than said intermediate panels.

Base panel 12 (FIGURE 3) has a plurality of downwardly extending support legs 26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33 and 34. Said legs may be of various shapes and configurations but should all be of substantially equal length and at least suflicient to allow the insertion of the fork of a lift truck under base panel 12. The base panel 12 has a plurality of blower-support stations, here eight in number, such as 37, 38 and 39.

Blower-support station 37 is comprised of an opening 41 for reception of the end portion of blower shaft 21 if present, load-bearing surfaces 42 for supporting the weight of a blower 11 and a plurality of guide blocks 43, 44, 46, 47 and 48 which prevent lateral shifting of blower 11. Blower-support station 38 is similar in construction to station 37, having a shaft-receiving opening 51, here leg 32, load-bearing surfaces 52 and a plurality of guide blocks 53, 54, 57 and 58 for retaining blower 11 in place. The portion 24 of the blower 11 abuts against portion 24A of blower 11A, thereby further limiting movement of said blowers. The blower-support station 39 and the remaining blower-support stations are similar in construction to stations 37 and 38. Base panel 12 also has a plurality of ribs, such as 61, 62 and '63, which make said panel more rigid and which provide the load-bearing surfaces 42 and 52.

The intermediate panels 13, 14, 16 and 17 may be identical and therefore only panel 13 will be described in detail. Intermediate panel 13 has a lower deck 64 (FIG- URE comprising a plurality of blower-retaining stations, such as 66, each having a pair of openings 67 and 68 which are capable of receiving the upper end of a blower shaft 21 if present. Blower-retaining station 66 has load-bearing surfaces 69 for supporting said panel on the layer of blowers 11 immediately therebelow and a plurality of guide blocks 71, 72 and 73 which prevent lateral shifting of panel 13 relative to said last-named layer of blowers 11. Panel 13 has a plurality of transverse ribs 74 and 75 which provide the load-bearing surfaces in the preferred embodiment. Intermediate panel 13 also has an upper deck 76 (FIGURE 4) comprising a plurality of stations 77, each of which supports the underside of a blower 11. Blower-support station 77 has an opening 81 for reception of the lower end of the shaft 21 of a blower 11, if present. Blower support station 77 also has load-bearing surfaces 82 for supporting a blower 11 and a plurality of guide blocks 83, 84, 86 and 87 for preventing lateral shifting of a blower 11. The remaining blower-support stations on deck 76 are similarly constructed.

The top panel 18 may be of the same construction as intermediate panels 13, 14, 16 and 17 or alternatively, may be provided only with the aforedescribed lower deck including blower-retaining stations 66 but not including blower-support stations 77.

To assemble the pallet for shipping, it is merely necessary to provide blower layer 101 by placing a blower 11 in each of the blower-support stations, such as 37, 38 and 39, on panel 12. Intermediate panel 13 then is placed over the layer 101 of blowers 11 such that the blowers are located in each of the blower-retaining stations 66 with the upper end of shaft 21, if present, extending into either opening 67 or opening 68. A layer 102 of blowers 11 is next placed on the upper deck of panel 13, each of said blowers being disposed in a blower-support station 77. In a similar manner, panels 14, 16 and 17 and layers 103, 104 and 105, respectively, of blowers 11 are alternately added. Each layer 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 of blowers 11 is slightly offset from the layer immediately below and the layer immediately above, thus allowing the shafts to slightly overlap providing a more compact construction. In other words, and referring to FIG- URE 6, if the upper end of shaft 21 of each of the blowers 11 in the lower layer 101 is placed into the opening 67 in panel 13, then the lower end of shaft 21 of the blowers 11 in layer 102 fits into opening 81 in panel 13 which is slightly offset form opening 67. The upper end of said shaft 21 in layer 102 will fit into opening *68 in panel 14 which is slightly offset from opening 81 in panel 14. The top panel 18 is placed over the uppermost layer 105 of blowers 11. Since the blowers are positioned with shafts vertical, this pallet structure is capable of handling blowers of numerous widths so long as the ends of such blowers are of the same size and 4 shape and preferably each layer contains blowers of only one width. A plurality of bands 91, 92, 93 and 94, such as steel bands, are wrapped around pallet 10 locking same together.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed above for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications thereof, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. A package of blower units comprising:

a plurality of stacked layers of blower units, each of said blower units having an upper volute-shaped end member, a lower volute-shaped end member spaced therefrom and a perpendicular side member interconnecting said spaced end members;

a base panel disposed beneath said stacked layer of blower units and including means for engaging and supporting said lower volute-shaped end member of each of said blower units in said first layer;

a plurality of intermediate panels, one of said intermediate panels being disposed between adjacent layers of said blower units and including means for bearing upon the upper volute-shaped end member of each of said blower units in the adjacent lower of said layers and means for engaging and supporting the lower volute-shaped end member of each of said blower units of the adjacent upper of said layers; and

further means for positioning the adjacent upper of said layers out of vertical alignment with the adjacent lower of said layers and holding said blower units against sideward and perpendicular movement with respect to said panels.

2. A package of blower units as defined in claim 1, wherein each of said blower units has a vertically disposed rotatable shaft extending through and beyond said upper end member and said lower end member and wherein said base panel and said intermediate panels have means for reception of said shaft whereby said means on said panels may bear directly against said volute-shaped end members.

3. A package of blower units as defined in claim 1, wherein said further means for holding said blower units against sideward movement comprise a plurality of integral blocks extending outwardly from said panels in overlapping engagement with the side member of each of said blower units.

4. A substantially rigid, flat blower-supporting base panel having a plurality of legs and a plurality of blower support stations mounted on said legs, said stations comprising:

downwardly extending wall means defining a well for the reception of a portion of a blower shaft;

load-bearing surface means connected to said well means for supporting engagement with a blower housing; and

a plurality of upstanding guide means mounted on said surface means for defining the limits of said station and for preventing lateral displacement of said blower.

5. A substantially rigid, flat panel for use between layers of blowers in a shipping package, comprising:

a plurality of blower support stations, each having downwardly extending wall means defining a well capable of receiving a lower portion of a blower shaft, load-bearing surface means connected to said well means for supporting engagement with a blower housing and a plurality of upstanding guide means mounted on said surface means for defining the limits of said station and for preventing lateral displacement of said blower housing; and

a plurality of blower-retaining stations integral with said blower support stations, each having upwardly extending wall means defining a pair of wells, each of said wells being capable of receiving an upper portion of a lower shaft, load-bearing surface means integral with said wall means for support of said panels upon a lower blower housing, and a plurality of guide means extending downwardly from said surface means for defining the limits of said stations and for preventing lateral displacement of said panel.

6. A shipping pallet for use with a plurality of vertically stacked layers of blowers, each of said blowers having a volute-shaped housing and an axis extending through each end of said housing, said blowers being positioned with their axes perpendicular to said shipping pallet and parallel to each other, comprising in combination:

a substantially rigid, horizontal, base panel having surface means adapted to support the lowermost layer of said blowers and a plurality of legs extending downwardly from said surface means;

a plurality of substantially rigid, horizontal, intermediate panels adapted for support upon an adjacent lower layer of said housings and adapted to support the adjacent upper layer of said housings;

a substantially rigid, horizontal top panel adapted for being disposed above the uppermost layer of said housings;

each of said base and intermediate panels having means for preventing lateral displacement of said housings and a plurality of reception means comprising an upwardly opening recess with a cylindrical wall integral with said panel and a bottom wall integral with said cylindrical wall, said reception means further including a pair of downwardly opening recesses each having a cylindrical wall integral with said panel and a top wall integral with said cylindrical wall, both of said downwardly opening recesses being spaced on opposite sides of said upwardly opening recess, whereby said base panel and said intermediate panels may be adapted for use with blowers having a shaft extending outwardly from at least one end of said housing and being received in said upwardly opening recess and alternating ones of said downwardly opening recesses so that the blower housings are supported directly on said panels and vertically offset from adjacent layers thereof.

7. A shipping pallet for use with a plurality of vertically stacked layers of blowers, each of said blowers having an upper volute-shaped end member and a lower volute-shaped end member spaced therefrom and a perpendicular side member interconnecting the spaced voluteshaped end members, each of said blowers having a rotatable shaft extending vertically through each end of said housing, comprising in combination:

a substantially rigid, vacuum-formed, thermoplastic, flat base panel disposed beneath and supporting the lowermost layer of said blowers, said base panel having an upwardly facing blower-supporting deck and a plurality of downwardly extending legs supporting said deck spaced from a support surface;

a plurality of susbtantially rigid, vacuum-formed, thermoplastic, flat intermediate panels disposed between said layers of blowers, each of said intermediate panels being identical and having blower shaft receiving means in both the upper and lower surfaces thereof, said blower shaft receiving means in said upper surface comprising an integral upwardly opening recess at each of a plurality of blower support stations, said blower shaft receiving means in said lower surface comprising a pair of downwardly opening recesses at each of a plurality of blowerretaining stations, said downwardly opening recesses being horizontally offset from said upwardly opening recess, said vertical blower shafts being received into the upwardly opening recess on the upper surface of the intermediate panels and extending upwardly therefrom to one of the downwardly opening recesses on the lower surface of the next adjacent intermediate panel, whereby each of said intermediate panels are adapted to support a layer of blowers offset with respect to the layer of said blowers immediately above and below said layer thereby permitting an overlapping relationship between the extending shaft portions thereof and thereby providing compact balanced loading of said pallet;

a substantially rigid, vacuum-formed, thermoplastic, flat top panel disposed above the uppermost layer of said blowers, said top panel having a plurality of downwardly facing blower-retaining stations each having means for receiving the upper end of the vertically oriented blower shafts so that said top panel is supported on the upper volute-shaped end member of each of the blowers in the uppermost layer of blowers.

8. A shipping pallet as defined in claim 7, wherein said base panel, said intermediate panel and said top panel have a plurality of transverse stiffening ribs References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,574,904 3/1926 Kucera 206 2,160,461 5/1939 OConnell et al. 206-65 3,338,405 8/1967 Hadenka et al.

3,351,264 11/1967 Bostrom 21726.5

MARTHA L. RICE, Primary Examiner 

